good morning, america. it's thursday, april 22nd. i'm george stephanopoulos. >> and i'm juju chang. >> this morning, fireball in the gulf. 11 workers still missing after an oil rig explodes. throwing some men 75 feet into the water. we have the latest on the frantic search, as desperate family members reunite with survivors overnight.esperate plus, president obama heads to wall street, taking on the big banks on their home turf. as the deal on financial reform appears near. we ask the treasury secretary what it means for you. and e-mails that could be at the center of a murder. sent by that "survivor" producer to his mistress, just as his wife is killed in mexico. plus, bristol palin takes on

the man accused of hacking into his mother's e-mail account and revealing bristol's cell phone number to the world. why she says she feared for her life. and good morning, from washington. i came down from my interview with the treasury secretary. robin's on assignment. thanks for holding down the fort, juju. we have news out of louisiana. that stunning video, from the burning oil platform. and news that the survivors we know of, arrived on land very early this morning. >> that's right, george. good morning, to you. the survivors reunited with their families just a short time ago. and that oil rig is massive. it's the size of a football field. and more than 100 workers were on it when it went up in flames. it's still burning. the smoke can be seen for 10,000 feet in the air, as the coast guard continues to search for survivors. >> that's right.

11 crew members still missing. the other big story here in washington, where congress seems on the verge of passing financial reform. it had looked like a partisan vote like on health care. but all of the anger at big banks may be foerjing a bipartisan deal. president obama heads to make a personal pitch on wall street. and i asked the treasury secretary what a deal would mean, not just for the financial community, but all of us. we do begin with the search for the 11 crew members still missing from the oil rig explosion. the survivors are with their families now. and jeffrey kofman is in kenner, louisiana, with the latest. jeffrey? >> reporter: good morning, george. just moments ago, weary survivors of the oil rig explosion, arrived at this hotel by the new orleans airport, after a very long journey back to land. and a terrifying ordeal at sea. rescue workers are saying they see plumes of smoke 10,000 feet in the air, as they struggle to contain a fire on the rig,

fueled by 10,000 gallons of raw crude oil, rushing to sea. a drilling rig, deep water horizon, was finishing work on a new well in the golf of mexico, when it was rocked by an explosion. >> best way to describe it is a big mushroom cloud. >> reporter: the rescued workers who arrived here minutes ago, are described by family members as shook up. 115 workers scrambled from the burning rig. some piling into lifeboats. others jumping more than 75 feet into the sea. coast guard helicopters ferried 17 workers to hospitals. >> clear. >> reporter: several of them critically injured. but the focus now is on the 11 workers still missing. the search for them is not over. >> my heart goes out to them. it really does. i couldn't imagine. really, i couldn't. i just hope and pray they find them. >> reporter: the deep water horizon is what is called a

modu, a mobile offshore drilling unit. it is sitting in 5,000 feet of water in the gulf of mexico. last september, this same rig drilled a wet 35,000 feet into the earth's surface, setting a world record. the rig, which is leased for about $500,000 a day, is badly damaged. it's not clear if it can be salvaged. heat from the fire has prevented firefighters from getting close enough to contain the blaze. so, to extinguish it, a remote vehicle will be sent to the seabed to cut off the supply of crude. now, the reality is finding out what happened to the missing men. >> the winds are down. we have good conditions for search and rescue at this time. >> reporter: now, the coast guard is using four helicopters, five cutters and an airplane, as the search continues and daylight returns here in louisiana. there were reports yesterday that the 11 missing men had been spotted. sadly, those reports were not

accurate. juju? >> jeffrey kofman, our thanks to you. thanks for that update. we spoke to lieutenant sue curver, with the coast guard in new orleans just moments ago. and i asked her about the ongoing search and rescue operation. >> coast guard is continuing to conduct search and rescue operations. it's been an ongoing effort since yesterday, throughout the evening. we have covered approximately 1,940 square miles of search area and have completed 17 sorties, as well as 12 through the air. >> we've seen dramatic pictures of the fireboats around the rig. paint a picture for me, if you will, of what that fire operation was like. >> well, it's still ongoing. the fire is still burning. and extinguishing efforts do continue. there's four osvs, offshore supply vessels. there's the ones you've seen in the picture, shooting water on to the rig.

>> there are reports that many survivors had to jump or were thrown from a height of 75 feet. how are the survivors holding up? >> you know, we had a group of survivors that came into port fusion last night. we had 17 that were medevacked from the scene. and we had four others that were transferred. >> tell us a little about the impact, if you will, of this explosion. what environmental impact will it have on the gulf? how long will you have to let the fire burn? >> as far as the environmental impact, that's something we're preparing in advance to take care of. we're looking at protecting the environment, and mitigating any potential environmental impact this may have. >> thank you, lieutenant kerver, with this information. >> thank you. >> they have calm sees ahead. we'll stay on top of this all day. george? >> okay, juju. thanks. now, to bank reform. and president obama's big speech

on wall street. not just information. but the tone. how tough will the president be on the banks? jake tapper is with me in the newse newseum. now, he's taking down the rhetoric a notch? >> that's right. it will be a much more serene speech. you don't see the fiery populism you've seen before. he'll be speaking to the larger public, more so than wall street. when it comes to wall street, and there will be people in the audience there, it will be more of a tone of come join us. join us in this endeavor. wall street will benefit from clear rules of the road. >> at the heart of what the president is doing today, as well, he really wants to connect what's happening in washington. what these reforms will mean for everyone back home. it is pretty arcane stuff. >> that's right. excerpts we got from the white house, he'll say, a free market was never meant to be a free license to take whatever you can get however you can get it. some on wall street forgot that behind every dollar traded or leveraged, there's a family looking to buy a house, pay for

an education, open a business or save for retirement. what happens here has a real consequence across our country. trying to connect what wall street executives do with the real-life of people. >> and the president knows there's a lot of anger against wall street. >> that's right. he's benefiting from it. that's one of the reasons it looks like a deal is eminent. this is something the public supports the democrats on. >> thanks very much. i had a chance to talk about all this when i spoke with treasury secretary tim geithner yesterday afternoon. we sat down before he talked to general motors executives to give back their bailout money. geithner was in a good mood. he was optimistic about getting democrats and republicans to agree on a financial reform package, which he agrees will end bailouts paid for all of us. that's where we began. >> i think we will. i'm spending a lot of time up there. talking to both sides of the aisle. people i talk to, want reform to be a strong bill. you can't be against reform,

given what happened. but what matters is, are they going to be for strong reforms? and based on what i've heard and what they tell me, they're for strong reforms. >> there's a lot of people that question whether what you're pushing for is strong enough. you have a situation now where the six biggest banks in the country have assets more than 60% of gdp. why shouldn't those big banks be broken up? >> this is a very strong package of reforms. it's going to set limits we never had in place, on risk-taking across the system. limits on how large firms can be. and how risky they can be. we've been doing this for 14 months. there's enormous resistance still to what we're trying to work through. >> they're fighting it at a time when the banks are just making staggering profits. goldman sachs, 27% profits. you can't find a business that you make profits at that level. and it's a sure sign, isn't it, that there's not enough competition? >> i don't believe that. most of what you're seeing in the american economy.

the economy is really getting stronger. the economy is growing again. private investment is expanding. people are starting to spend more. exports are growing. that's a good sign. a healthy sign. we're living with the financial system that brought us this crisis. we have a huge obligation, i believe, huge responsibility, now, to make sure we put in place tough reforms now. >> why isn't it a good idea to do something about the size of these banks? are they still too big to fail? >> we agree. absolutely. you're limiting how big they can get and how risky they can get. but in the future, if they mess up and take themselves to the edge of the cliff again, we want to make sure we can put them out of existence. break them up, safely without the taxpayer having to bail them out again. that's a critical part of this bill. >> you're confident, if these reforms are put in place and 18 months down the road, we face another situation like lehman brothers. whether it's now citigroup or jpmorgan, morgan stanley, whichever bank, goldman sachs,

you're confident that the government will not step in and save them? >> absolutely. absolutely. that's important for people to understand. you can't run a system in which private investors or their executives can take risk on the expectation the government is going to protect them. >> that's what happened, isn't it? >> that's what happened before. we're not going to let it happen again. >> let's talk about goldman sachs. the s.e.c. is taking action against goldman sachs. did anyone in the obama administration, in treasury, in the white house, in the government, get a heads-up? >> absolutely not. they give no warnings and no heads-up. there should be no involvement ever in those investigations. i'm confident our system protects against that risk. >> i know you can't talk about the investigation, per se. but how about the underlying issue? these firms are setting up what are synthetic cdos.

why should firms be allowed to do this at all? >> i want to be careful. there's a tradition of not commenting. what you need to have a system in which this stuff happens, not in the dark. where some people can make some money. but it comes at enormous risk to the system as a hole. we bring derivatives out of the dark. those activities happen in broad daylight with full disclosure. and with the cops able to police the stuff more effectively. >> i understand that for private firms. when you have the banks getting subsidies from the federal government, why should they be allowed to do this? >> you're exactly right. an obligation of government. in some ways this was the failure of the system we had. you know, we had in place for seven years after the great depression. but the markets outgrew it. the obligation of government is to prevent firms from taking risks that could imperil the

economy. and to prevent people from taking advantage of their customers. >> reporter: but even as washington limits these risky investments, wall street is trying to create new ones. the latest, letting people bet on box office results. a futures market in movies. you think that's a good idea? >> you know, here's what i think about this, george. the financial sector will be creative and will innovate. it will come up with products in a meet some real need people have. and come up with products that are designed to help people bet on some basic outcome. that's going to happen. it's a necessary part of running a good financial system. but those things come with risks. and our job, our obligation, is to make sure we're reducing those risks. and you need the government better equipped to do a better job earlier. >> they shouldn't be banned? >> you can't stop innovation. you can't run a system where you have a bunch of bureaucrats in washington, trying to figure out what's risky and what's not.

they'll miss it. they'll be too late. or they'll overdo it. the best thing we can do for the country, is to make sure the system has better protections in place. not all senators got the memo from the treasury secretary. they voted to ban the movies future market yesterday. now, back up to new york and dan harris with the rest of the morning's headlines. >> good morning. all of europe's 28,000 flights are expected to take off today. some airports in norway and sweden had to close again because of that ash cloud from the volcano in iceland. back in this country, a plan to upgrade our aging air control system has hit a big snag. the new computers are plagued with problems. and even misidentified aircraft during testing. the system may not be ready by the end of this year, as was initially expected.

iran began a series of military exercises in the persian gulf today. a show of strength amid rising tension over its nuclear program. a senior american defense official on wednesday, ruled out a military strike anytime soon, saying the emphasis, instead, will be on sanctions. and finally, on this earth day, some spectacular, new pictures of the sun. these are the first images from a nasa telescope designed specifically to help scientists learn about the sun's influence on earth. they show bubbling gases and solar flares. and in one stunning shot, you can see a cloud of charged gas erupting from the surface. and that is your news at 7:15. and, juju, a little bit of research for you. >> yes? >> do you know how many earths would fit inside the sun? >> i have no idea. >> a million. >> nice to know. >> that's what i'm here for. >> it's fascinating what looks through a telescope is what looks like through a microscope. it looks amoeba-like. another way to celebrate

earth day, is to go to weather with sam champion at the epcot theme park. good morning, sam. >> good morning, juju. we're at epcot this morning. we'll talk about the health and the beauty of the oceans from here this morning. let's get to the weather. we have a long line of storms that's developed today. it's a two-day event. we haven't had a lot of tornados. but in this episode of the next two days, we'll see tornadoes popping up here. stay up to date with your local abc stations. it's east of denver, to oklahoma city. west of dallas, tomorrow, from houston to little rock, all the way to kansas city. big southern warmth today. new orleans at about 80 degrees today. atlanta, at 79, almost 80 degrees today.

>> good morning, maryland. it does not going to be good driving out there. we have thick fog across the area, and visibility is cut down, and we have the advisory to 9:00. still fog on the eastern shore as well, but it will burn off this afternoon. we will have sunshine at 70, and 70 tomorrow, and showers returning in the afternoon on saturday, and more rain likely on sunday through early next week. and we will have all of america's weather in the next half hour, live, here from epcot this morning. george, on the 40th anniversary

of earth day. some of this will be under water, by the way. >> wow. it has been 40 years. thanks, sam. now, to the sarah palin e-mail hacking trial. palin's daughter, bristol, testified wednesday. telling the jury she was terrified of a college student allegedly broke into her mom's e-mail and posted bristol's cell phone number online. steve osunsami is in knoxville, with the story. >> reporter: good morning. attorneys for david kernell said it was a prank when he opened up the e-mail account. bristol palin said she was pregnant at the time, and alone at home in alaska, when she suddenly started receiving threatening messages, e-mails and phone calls from people around the world. it's as if everyone had her number. and they did. prosecutors say after david kernell, compromised her mother's e-mail account, he posted that cell phone number and other private information

online. >> it's bristol's testimony that's likely to change the image of the defendant, from a thoughtless prankster to something more cold and calcula calculated. >> reporter: bristol said she feared for her life. she said after she turned the phone over to the secret service, she had no way to reach her parents, who were campaigning. there was no phone line at her grandparents' home where she was staying. she was not happy with kernell's attorneys. >> i thought she got testy when the defense questioned her. >> reporter: kernell is just 22 years old and a former economics major at the university of tennessee. if he's convicted he could spend the next 50 years in federal prison. he's the son of one of the state's top democratic lawmakers, which doesn't help him here in palin country. across town, people weren't sure if his alleged actions were stupid or criminal. >> i think he's young and stupid. >> everyone knew he shouldn't have done it. >> reporter: there was this

interesting exchange outside of the court. kernell was asked what he thought about bristol palin. >> what do you think about bristol palin? >> reporter: it wasn't the answer his attorneys would have preferred. todd and sarah palin are still on the witness list. and either of them could testify today. george and juju? >> steve osunsami, thank you for that update. coming up, new details about the television producer suspected of murdering his wife in cancun. what newly-released e-mails reveal about their marriage. and flying high on your dime. the congressional staffer who spent $76,000 traveling in just nine months. it was all your money. [ female announcer sometimes you need tomorrow

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now, the forecast certified most accurate. >> good morning, it's 7:24. dense fog advisory, and we're already seeing place that is didn't have fog half an hour

ago. it's hard to see across the parking lot, and that's a sign of what's happening across the area. we will show you stevenson university socked in with the fog, and we will show you a couple more sites here. where we did not have fog just a half hour ago, if you were watching the end of our program, we had showed this site, now at 51, the fog has rolled back in there as well. foggy travel is up north, 83 through your county out west, and we will clear out and wind up with a mild afternoon when the sun begins to break out after 9:00. we will have an afternoon guaranteed high of around 70. we are dealing with heavy volume around the area especially as you make your way on the west side of the outer loop between 75 all the way down to 70 this morning. locking at the cameras here on

the northeast corner, this is also stop and go from 95 past providence road. as we take a peek at the maps, we are dealing with several events, a crash on 83 southbound. that is blocking the right lane at this time. and also an injury crash northbound on the vw parkway at 895 causing some delays. over on the eastern side of baltimore county, an accident is blocking the southbound lanes, and another crash in edge mere and northpoint road and dogwood road. and you will see dense fog here with stop and go traffic from beltway down to maryland avenue. stay with us. we have your morning news update next.

how does saving 300 dollars sound to you? you can start saving today. nine states will begin the

programs today in conjunction with earth day. you can get rebates for more efficient appliances. you can get all sorts of deals on this program by going to our website, abc2news.com, and then click on the slide show to find the story. the navy plans to test a bio fuel fighter jet today on this earth day. the flight is scheduled today, and the navy said it expects to see no difference between the superhornet's performance and fighters burning jet fuel. the state's board of public works has declared a vintage sailing ship surplus property, and the move helps clear the way for the state to be able to transfer the property, and the board could vote as early as this coming june. the orioles, they needed a win, but they got another loss. they have the worst start in the franchise's history since 1988.

the mariners ace hernandez through the 8th complete game of his career last night helping seattle win 4-1. hernandez allowed nine singles but did not walk any batter. we are just hours away from the nfl draft, and one lucky 7th grader will be in new york, and eddie mitchell martini is being honored in the league. we will see you in 25 minutes with another morning update on good morning maryland.

now, it looks like the life of the rich and famous. but the man enjoying these perks is a congressional staffer. he's been called washington's $76,000 man. that's how much he spent in just nine months traveling to exotic places. it was all on your dime. this morning we have a "gma" investigation, looking at how official washington travels with your money. good morning, america. i'm george stephanopoulos, in washington this morning. robin is on assignment. juju keeping her seat warm up in new york. how does it feel, juju? >> not bad. i'm eager to have you and robin back here in new york where you belong. also ahead, we have the story of the little girl who would be

queen. we open the royal scrapbook for a rare look at queen elizabeth's baby pictures. and it's the first time the public is getting to see them. first, in this half hour, we turn to the new details in the murder of a young mother on vacation in mexico. new e-mails have surfaced, purportedly showing she had a strained relationship with her television producer husband, who prosecutors are calling a prime suspect in the case. ryan owens is in cancun with the latest. good morning, ryan. >> reporter: good morning, to you, juju. these e-mails come from monica's home computer, back in los angeles. after she was murdered, her family found them and thought they were significant enough to bring them to mexican authorities. monica beresford redman's brother and sister came to cancun to hand-deliver to mexican prosecutors what they believe is proof of the motive for her murder. a series of e-mails between monica, her husband, bruce, and his former colleague, joy

pierce. the website radaronline, received an e-mail from his account to his mistress on march 15th. our relationship was a mistake. i'm committing myself to be a husband and father. the letter continues, i'm going to write to many women who i am inappropriate with. and tell them that i am making changes, too. i'm going to go to therapy for being a liar. what i did to monica was lousy. and as you know, it required me to lie to her for months. and, i told you i didn't feel i would be happy without you. and i that i was going to leave my family so that we could be together. i am not proud of the way i conducted this. but according to radaronline, bruce wasn't the only one writing to joy. so was monica. in this e-mail, entitled "tiger bruce attacks again," monica writes, he is a liar and we know. this is my embarrassing husband. and even more for being the

father of my kids. to which joy responded, monica, i am no longer involved in your situation and would like to be left alone. best of luck. the attorney representing monica's family here in mexico, also says the trip to this posh resort, designed to repair their marriage, was all bruce's idea. and all very last-minute. he said monica had planned a family trip somewhere else. but a day or two before they left, bruce changed those plans and insisted on cancun. that, the attorney says, made her family nervous. >> we love my sister. and we want justice. >> reporter: monica's sister and mother are hoping to leave mexico soon, to take monica's body back to los angeles. as for bruce, he is still a free man. and still here in mexico. juju, it is important to point out, two weeks now, after his wife's body was found, he has not been charged with a single crime. >> ryan owens, thanks for that latest from cancun.

and joining me now is former l.a. county prosecutor, robin sacks. good morning, robin. >> good morning, juju. >> well, the family brought these e-mails to mexico, because presumably this will play out in a mexican courtroom. it points to a theory he had shopped. she had denied me access to my children. she had shut me out of my home. she has liquidated all my money. is the theory that he snapped? >> the theory could be that he snapped. but also, there is evidence to suggest this was completely planned. when you think of snap, you're thinking, snapped in a moment. being -- the planning, the sending the e-mails, and even choosing the destination of cancun suggests there was a bit more planning than just a random snapping. >> well, a lot has been made of the location. he is a "survivor" producer, a show that films overseas in brutal settings. what do you make of that?

>> as a "survivor" producer, bruce made a living of getting things done in foreign countries. and in order to get things done, you have to go with the culture and the norms and customs of that place. and we all know, it's common knowledge that mexico, a very easy way to get things done is to pay people off, which is something he may have tapped into. >> the second, big issue that the e-mails bring out, is the issue of credibility. a lot of e-mails talk about his lying. being in therapy for lying. let me point out to one. he said, what i did to monica was lousy. and as you know, it requires me to lie to her for months. when he gets on the stand, the e-mails will be an issue. >> credibility is the most important aspect of any trial. in mexico, they don't have trials by jury. at least in the trial of public opinion here, we're looking at these and know there's nothing we can trust in terms of what he's saying.

we know and what we've heard from our investigation of what's going on in mexico, is that accounts of what occurred there in cancun have been different and don't jive with the facts that the other witnesses say. >> they say they're closing in on the investigation. but it has been two weeks. and there's been no charges filed thus far. >> this haven't been charges filed. and frankly, that's outrageous. everything we have seen certainly points not only to bruce as the suspect. but the only suspect. in addition, i have become aware that there was a $5 million life insurance policy that was taken out by monica or presumably taken out by monica, only three months ago. >> and the sisters say they are seeking justice. they've spoken out a bit. do you think that they believe bruce was involved? >> i think that there's no one else for them to look at. and i think that everybody thinks that bruce is the only person that could be responsible for this murder. i mean, you have a motive, which you don't even need to prove in a criminal case. you have this affair. you have the location.

you have the strangulation. you have the accounts by the security guards. you don't see that monica left the premises. and the alleged nonsense story that she went shopping at 8:30 in the morning and didn't come back. the reporting late. all of the evidence seems to be there. and to me, if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it's a duck. >> robin sax, appreciate your insight this morning. we're going to change gears right now and take a look at the weather with sam champion, who is reporting on earth day from epcot. sam, how are you doing? >> good morning, juju. yeah, we're at epcot this morning. we're going to talk about oceans today. there are believed about 230,000 species that live in our oceans. there could be ten-times that. we don't know because nobody has been able to study and count them. when i saw this film coming out, i wanted to show it to you. disney nature put out a film

called "ocean." it's a beautiful, beautiful pictures. i saw things i have never seen before. in a second coming up in the clip, you're going to see a school of fish, swirling around, taking shapes. i had no idea that even happened under water. incredible pictures. it opens today nationwide. let's get to the boards. we're going to show you more. we're going to get in the tank behind us and talk more about the health of the issues. also about the health of the food we get from the oceans. we're going to deal with some fog this morning. from washington, to norfolk, to raleigh, to richmond. this has been a foggy start to the morning. visibility's come up in the last hour. you're going to be slow because of it. elsewhere, we have a large area of severe weather from texas to oklahoma. this is just east of denver. we think there's going to be tornadoes that pop up in these storms today. please make sure you're up with your abc stations. on the west coast, very cool. showery weather, from l.a. to san diego today. all the

all that weather was brought to you by the alzheimer's association. juju, one of the reasons we're here today talking about all of our oceans around the planet, is there's so little known about them. we hope to spark some interest in that water that covers the globe, that really, we all share. >> the aquarium looks like a green screen behind you, sam. but i must say, nice wet suit. >> we're going to need it in a minute. we're getting in. >> all right. we look forward to that. >> i only pulled that off once. >> we look forward to that. thanks, sam. coming up next, the congressional workers flying high on your dime. it's a "gma" investigation. with no explanations, no receipt.

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we're going to turn, now, to a "gma" investigation. what if you could travel for business on the company dime, high-style, sky's the limit, no questions asked. you don't even need to keep your receipts. i know it sounds like fiction. but it isn't. and taxpayers are bankrolling all of it. jon karl is following this story. $76,000 for one staffer in nine months. >> reporter: yes. for congressional staffers and members of congress, international travel is an important part of the job. but the key is, there's no limits on how much their spending on these trips. and we found they're spending more than they need to. me meet kron gres's $76,000 man. three trips to germany, for more

than $30,000. and more than $20,000 in for 15 days in copenhagen, where he attended the summit on climate change. who is this international man of mystery? his name is harlin watson, a staffer on the climate change committee. and one of the many congressional staffers, who routinely enjoy business-class travel, and expensive hotels at taxpayer expense. congressman, how are you? we couldn't get an interview with mr. watson. but we did track down his boss, james sensenbrenner. we want to ask you about mr. watson's travels. he's your staffer. doesn't mr. watson work for you? >> mr. watson is a minority employee. >> reporter: do you have a problem with spending $76,000 traveling the european capitals

over the course of just nine months? >> reporter: when we asked congressman markey, the democratic chairman about this, his spokesman told us, quote. he doesn't work for us. he's a republican. harlin watson seems to be the biggest spender of late. but he has a lot of competition. the congressional record lists pages and pages of foreign trips by members of congress and their staff. at the start of trips, they get paid cash for food and incidentals. it can be as much as $200 a day. no need for receipts. if you don't spend the money, keep it. >> they can spend it on gifts, so they can take it home and invest it. they can do whatever. >> reporter: in december, the senate spent nearly $500,000 sending a delegation to the climate change summit in copenhagen. it included 40 staff. but only two senators. one, senator james inhofe was on the ground for only a few hours. but spent more than $8,000, just on airfare. >> i think the rule is, you travel business class if you go

abroad, as opposed to sitting back in the -- we call voter class. >> madame chairman -- >> reporter: in a two-week period, congressman bart gordon spent $20,000 on trips to italy. he told us he attended important meets. and that his airfare was booked by the congressional travel office. >> by the way, i'm a taxpayer, too. you can find cheaper tickets, let me know. >> reporter: you can fly to europe a lot cheaper if you book the flights yourselves. look at these flights from washington to london. any number of flights from $700. $730. it's hard to find a flight that costs $10,000. a good way to save taxpayer money? at least one congressman thinks so. >> you get the people to book the trips, to see if they can book a delegation through expedia or something.

>> reporter: in reality, there's no incentive for congress to limit the costs of these trips. the capitol hill newspaper, "roll call," had an incredible finding. the congress doesn't pay for them. it comes from a special fund, out of the treasury department. it automatically renews. last year, it was $15 million. >> members of congress, say they do need to do this official travel. and all of the expenses are disclosed. they can make up their own mind. >> reporter: their disclosed to a degree. you learn how much you spent on travel. and how much you spent overall. and there's a category called other. and sometimes the expense reports are filed up to a year after the trips are made. >> thanks very much. when we come back, from happy baby to her majesty. a rare look at queen elizabeth's baby pictures. ♪ presenting the new toyota avalon.

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and we're going to get to those fabulous baby pictures of the queen in the next half hour. there's another picture we want to show you. it's unbelievable. a baseball game. >> i love this. a college athlete flipping over the catcher. in fact, he was ruled safe. his name is brian kownacki. after he did that move, the harlem globetrotters saw it. and gave him an award. >> the team won. it was a good effort. if you can't go through it, go

over it. coming up at 8:00, there's a man accused of domestic violence in oregon. his defense, is he was sleeping when it happened. stay with us. - good idea, sally. - oh, thanks scott. it was my idea. well, little things like that mae a difference. for example... scott naturals. you get the high-quality performance you need... and just the right blend of recycled fibers. best of both worlds. i like that. yep, it's like having your cake-- and eating it too. exactly. it's green done right. do you know scott? scott naturals are green done right.

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now, the forecast certified most accurate by weatherate and maryland's most powerful doppler radar. >> good morning. our dense fog advisory takes us to 9:00, but some places just developing the fog in the last hour. this is sparrows' points. along the inner harbor, it's lifting a little bit. 43 degrees at veterans elementary school, and we can see a little bit of the haze

across the parking lot. the fog itself with the atmosphere beginning to stir and mix up, it will give way to sunshine and a mild afternoon. we get to our 70 degree temperatures. we will see some improvement after the advisory expires. some improvement tonight, and a 70 degree spot on friday. castleton road is now reopened in darlington, and we take a peek at the cameras, still going to see some lengthy delays around the area. here it's going to be stop and go all the way from 95 way past york road, so give yourself lots of time. we take a peek at the maps, we do have a couple of incidents still working around the area. an injury crash reported 695 at 295 on the outer loop. they are still trying to get a crash cleaned up on the beltedway at 8 -- beltway at 895 as well. and we have a couple of crashes

and a disabled vehicle reported at the beltway. stay with us. we're sending you back to new york for good morning america. how do you stop tacos falling over?

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actually, i'm in washington. good morning, america. i'm george stephanopoulos, in washington this morning. >> hey. and i'm juju chang in new york. as you know, robin roberts is out on assignment this morning. >> that is right. she's out doing, i think, her supersecret living the dream. >> so, we can't talk about it. >> we cannot talk about it. what we are going to talk about are the dark side of dreams. and the question of whether dreams can be dangerous. we'll tell you about a bizarre sleep disorder that this woman says turned her husband's dreams into a nightmare of physical violence. we'll have that ahead. and our "morning mix" panel is weighing in on the headlines. quarterback ben roethlisberger,

suspended six games for that conduct in a georgia bar, that he wasn't charged a crime for. he has been suspended for six games. was the punishment appropriate? or not enough? also, the new rules of supermarket shopping. can you judge meat by its color? is it okay to eat food after the expiration date? we have grocery shopping 101. first, to dan harris at the newsdesk. good morning, dan. >> good morning, everyone. president obama arrives in new york to make his case for reforming wall street. the president will remind investors that, quote, a free market was never meant to be a free license to take whatever you can get however you can get it. our bianna golodryga is on wall street this morning. bianna, how are people feeling about what the president is going to say today? >> reporter: i think that type of rhetoric, wall street expects to hear from the president oop it's similar to the tone of what

he delivered when he spoke at federal hall a year ago. that's nothing new. what the street will be focused on is whether that rhetoric picks up and turns divisive in tone. the president is avoid making this a wall street versus main street type of issue. dan, as for the bill itself, most i spoke to said as it's playing out now, for the most part, it's fair. the big question, will additional, more radical ideas come forth, that would make the bill less sound. >> a huge continuing story. thank you very much. the other big story this morning, the coast guard has resumed its search by air, for 11 oil workers, still missing since that massive explosion on tuesday night, on a rig in the gulf of mexico. survivors of the blast were reunited with their families early this morning. we're learning this morning about another drama that unfolded on the open sea. it's the story of a heroic

call he made. swell. survivor, robert jack, said there was no time. >> i went to the captain, saying we had a severe list. >> reporter: they had to jump ship. but they'd have to call for help first. >> i made the first jump into it sucked me under.

>> reporter: jack and two other raft. three hours later, help would arrive. but not for the captain. he hit his head as the boat flipped on its side. rescue. >> our captain made it in there and sacrificed himself, i believe, to make a mayday call for his crew. >> and there's an indication this morning that the captain may have predicted this disaster. earlier this month, he voiced concern that the boat was carrying too much cargo. and he even changed his route to avoid rougher water. now, a look at what's coming up tonight on "world news." here's diane sawyer. >> tonight on "world news," a town without money, in need of a new school. and then, plastic bottles factor in? how? it's a woman with an idea. we couldn't believe it. see it. the american heart at work tonight. finally, on the newscast, happy birthday, your majesty. to celebrate queen elizabeth's

birthday, the palace has just released these baby pictures of the queen. there's 56 images in total. they're going on public display at windsor castle. they were taken in 1927, when she was 7 months old. she's, i believe, 84 years old. >> absolutely. the pictures were taken because the king and queen went on a grand tour. they missed the baby so much. they wanted the queen to see the baby. she was quoted as saying, i think i'll take a sip of champagne and try not to weep. >> a grand tour. that's what happens when you're king. we'll get some weather from sam champion, who is literally under water, celebrating earth day at epcot. sam, can you hear me? >> hi, juju. how are you? good morning. >> it sounds so calm under water. >> it's so beautiful right here. and we wanted to do this. we're in at the seas with nemo and friends here at epcot this

morning because we know that in history, there were seven seas. we called them five oceans now. but really, it's just one body of water that surrounds the planet. so, we thought we'd concentrate on it today. and bring you a shot from live. we thought we would try to do this live. we've been able to pull it off successfully once. here we are. let's get to the boards. we'll show you what's going on this morning. one or two things we want to talk about. that's where the severe storms will be today. this line will include some pretty powerful storms with tornadoes today. so, definitely pay attention to your -- we haven't seen too many so far this season. on the eastern seaboard, we've got just a little bit of warm weather and fog to start the morning. and on the west coast, we've got definitely some cooler temperatures

there are rays. there are sea turtles. it's amazing in here. juju? >> sam, that's fantastic. you found like a cross between sam champion and darth vader. but i subconsciously take breaths with you each time. fantastic, sam. >> don't make me laugh. >> sorry. all right. stay safe. we'll see you back in a bit. we have to change gears. there's this fascinating story i need to tell you about.

we've heard about the bizarre things some do in their sleep. talking, walking, eating, even driving without waking up. but what if you commit a crime while suffering from a sleep disorder? it's tore one family apart and landed an oregon husband in jail. it was 4:00 in the morning. without warning, adam kearns attacked his wife, randi. >> my son has night terrors. my husband woke up. he started yelling at me. i couldn't understand what was going on. >> reporter: and perhaps most shocking, adam, she says, appeared to be sleeping during the attack. >> he's half-asleep. it's the weirdest thing i've ever seen in my life. he's never been abusive to me in my whole life. >> reporter: adam was arrested for felony domestic abuse, and ordered to stay away from randi, a charge his wife is fighting. >> he's not a violent man. he's never hurt me. he's never made me feel afraid.

>> reporter: the legal system disagrees. while adam can see his three sons, the judge has barred contact between the couple for two months. >> i was told that i wasn't allowed to console her or hug her or have any contact. >> reporter: they couldn't even talk to each other when their son underwent search for sleep apnea. and even our interviews had to be done in separate locations. >> my wife and i have been married for ten years. and we've spent maybe one, two nights apart in that ten years. and this is too months. trying not to break down. but i can't help it. this is destroying me. >> reporter: feeling alone, randi didn't know what to do. until an episode of "dr. oz" stopped her in her tracks. >> i'm hitting her. >> and i was screaming to get him to wake up. >> just thought to myself, that's the same thing adam has. >> reporter: sleep disorder

specialists say being startled in a dream-like state can trigger primal, violent reactions, as we've reported on abc. >> we see kicking. we see punches. we see biting. we see rage reactions. >> reporter: adam has been diagnosed with r.e.m. sleep disorder. the couple's convinced this should clear adam's name. we asked dr. oz this may explain what happened that night. >> that couple has a strong case. r.e.m. disorder is not a mechanism to escape justice. we know it occurs. we know it's not rare. >> this is causing more damage to my family than anything that could have happened that night. >> reporter: but the oregon prosecutor says the law exists for good reason. >> the point is, we're trying to stop domestic violence. once we get evidence of these crimes, our goal is to hold people accountable for the assaults and the other things that have occurred inside that home. and also, help these victims get out. >> my main concern is getting

home so i can be the two things that i am. and that's a good father and a good husband. and that's it. >> reporter: adam will be back in court on may 5th. and the couple hopes this may be the end to their nightmare. although, they worry the case may drag on for several more months or worse. >> the punishment does not make sense. for them to keep us apart, it's tearing up our family. i asked adam, how could the authorities be sure that he and his wife weren't just coming up with the sleep disorder excuse. he said they haven't been able to talk to each other for two months. coordinating their stories would be impossible. and on the 911 tapes you hear, she repeatedly says he's asleep. he's a dworted family man. and this year, because of the expense, they couldn't afford the little league dues. tell us what you think about this story. weigh in. go to abcnews.com. we have lots more coming up. george has "the morning mix." stay with us. sailed the ocean blue... christopher colus

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♪ let's give them something to talk about ♪ and now, for a special d.c. edition of our "morning mix," we have a lively crew to hash out

the topics of the week. sam donaldson is here. christine brennan. and donna brazile. great profile on nancy pelosi this month. cokie was on "morning mix," with raquel welch. you're just as lucky. >> i'll take this handsome man anytime. >> we'll start with ben roethlisberger. he was suspended six games by nfl commissioner roger goodell. he was not convicted of a crime. he says that's not the point. >> when you conduct yourself in a way that brings negative reaction from our fans, from everybody involved in the league, and reflects poorly on yourself and your team and the nfl, that's what the personal conduct policy is. you don't have to be convicted of a crime. >> christine, you have a pretty tough column on big ben in "usa today" this morning. i guess you agree with goodell.

>> i do. it's six games. it could be more, if ben does not abide by the rules roger goodell has set. the fact there was no crime officially, it's a privilege in the nfl. >> how will it play in pittsburgh, donna? >> well, look. george, this was a good policy. a good decision. there's a fine associated with it. about $2.8 million. that's going to hit him somewhere -- >> every game he misses, he doesn't get paid. >> absolutely right. and i think this sets a great standard for the nfl. and i would hope that the nfl have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to sexual assault. it will not play well in pittsburgh. but there's rumors they might be looking for another quarterback. >> ed rooney, the owner and ultimately roethlisberger. this is too tough. he threw himself on the mercy of

the public court. compare that with some of the other recent cases involving well-known athletes. i think all's well in a ends well in this. you can't second-guess the prosecutor. he said he didn't have enough evidence. and you have to accept it. >> and in the end, the alleged victim pulled back. >> you have roethlisberger in a motorcycle accident without a helmet four years ago. and now, twice in the last year, there have been charges of sexual assault by women, accusations. he's crying out for help. >> what does he have to do now to bring down the suspension? >> he has to go through behavioral analysis. it's new-age punishment, i think. they're going to try to help him, too. this is a guy crying out for help. frankly, that's what goodell believes. and i think it's a good idea for the league to do this. two-prong. we're going to slap your wrist. we're going to slap your pocketbook. but we're also going to have a helping hand here. maybe he can be a role model to say, don't become what i became. >> let's do a little politics right now. the president heading up to wall

street right now. in the meantime, sam, he's in the middle of deliberations again on another supreme court pick. replacing justice stevens. who are you thinking about? >> my pick would be janet napolitano. she's made a star of herself in the cabinet. a puff piece -- she faced the voters in arizona. they liked her. i like the idea that not just federal judges. i have nothing against judges. i'll give you another name. let's go further. the constitution does not say you have to be a lawyer to be on the supreme court. >> that's right. >> i give you al gore. he's 62. still has a few years kicking. i think he's confirmable. it would be a fight to some extent. i think he would make a very good justice. >> there would be a massive fight. >> i said to some extent. >> i was his campaign manager. >> he would be qualified. but with a nobel prize and oscar, i think al gore's going to continue to fight for climate

change. look, i like a lot of the names on the short list and the short-short list. there's a lot of qualified people. and some great women. i'm one of these people that would like to encourage the president to put another court on the court. a female version of justice alito. i like that name. i like elena kagan. i like all of them. judge sears. >> if it's a woman, it's okay with you? >> absolutely. >> with 50/50 in the nation, and not there on the court, that makes a lot of sense. >> you actually have more than 50% of the population. >> 51%. >> that's right. >> and i'm intrigued, when we hear that people say, no litmus test on this or that. from a sports perspective here, you win. to the victor goes the spoils. and the president has absolutely every right, as any other president, to pick whoever he wants. >> he's come clean on that. he said, there's no litmus test. on the other hand, when it comes to females using their body, we

know where he stands. >> he respects individuals rights. and also women's rights. he has high regards for the supreme court. he's a constitutional lawyer. he did a fantastic job with judge sotomayor. >> only a minute left. i can't let you go. put you on the spot a little bit about larry king. his divorce. on again. off again. what's going on? >> i hate to hear the idea that he maybe had an extramarital affair. i think originally his mother told him a long time ago, larry, no sex outside of marriage. he's been married seven times. if it's true, i hate to see you stray, larry. >> you have to wonder. you can increditly say this, larry may have to book himself for his show. this story is so sar sordid. just hope it can go away for him. >> final ten seconds, donna. >> as someone who loves larry king, larry king is a hotty. and women throw themselves at larry king.

i've walked down the hall with him. and they love him. >> donna brazile gets the last word. she says larry king is a hotty. weigh in on our website, abcnews.com. we'll be right back. it's a revolutionary way to grow a great garden. liquafeed makes feeding .as easy as watering. no measuring, mixig or guessing. just attach, insert and feed. plants get the perfect balance... of water and nutrients... to grow twice as big. liquafeed from miracle-gro. and prevent weeds up to 3 months with miracle-gro garden weed preventer. aveeno hair shines in real life. new aveeno nourish plus shine with active naturals wheat smooths damaged cuticles for 75% more shine in one use. real shine, for real life. yours. [ female announcer ] new aveeno nourish plus shine. where do you want to go? nowhere. who do you feel like seeing? no one.

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performance without compromise. that is what drives us. now, the forecast certified most accurate by weatherate and maryland's most powerful doppler radar. >> dense fog advisory has been issued this morning from the weather perspective, fog warning on bridges and roadways, and it is really hard to see more than just a few hundred feet in spots. 49 degrees. really thick fog, and while some of you are already seeing improvement, this is our view in downtown baltimore, we were having trouble seeing the tops of a lot of those buildings, already seeing improvement. temperatures will be warming up. the fog itself slowly begins to loosen up and lift, and we're looking for that to burn off and give way to sunshine by late morning into the afternoon.

there may be some more clouds this afternoon, but we will aim for the sunshine and a high of 70. let's see what's happening as you're looking forward on the roads. >> we do have a lot happening this morning. debris is blocking the center lane on the westbound span of the bay bridge, and we take a peek at the camera, you're going to see slow going as you make your way southbound on 95 down towards the beltway and towards the split. also slow as you approach the the tunnels as well. we have a crash in howard county, and in baltimore, they are still trying to put out a vehicle fire, and we're working a crash in milford mill. as we take a quick peek at the city cameras, you're going to see slow going here headed towards downtown.

>> today is earth day, and nine states including yours truly will begin their cash for appliances program today. the government's federal cash for appliances rebate program is funded by nearly $300 million in the stimulus funding, and our state will offer a $300 rebate for energy star qualified heat pump water heaters, a $150 re-peyton for clothes washers,

and $150 rebate for refrigerators. the volcanoic ash is clearing out, and some flights have been departing from the europe. 200 relieved passengers were on a british airways flight landing in baltimore. virgin airways ceo says he thinks planes could have flown sooner if they had been allowed to fly and see if it was dangerous. it's estimated the airline losses will top $2 billion. right now, about 80% of the flights are up in the air and operating. update your status and show off your kids' pictures and chat with your friends. these are some of the things you can do on facebook. and now a new feature will link facebook users to other websites they visit. as long as you're logged on to facebook, you will be able to share your particular on your profile by clicking like buttons

next to a musician or a news article. and i have no idea what i just said. good luck out there on facebook. let's talk about the orioles right now. they needed a win, but they got another loss. hernandez threw the 8th complete game of his career last night. hernandez allowed 9 singles and didn't walk a batter. we will see you in 25 minutes with good morning maryland at 9:00. see you then.

♪ ♪ whoa, whoa all right. we are enjoying the heavenly sound of marvin sapp this morning. the reverend marvin sapp. his new album hit number two on the billboard gospel chart. this morning, he's performing live here at "gma." giving us divine inspiration to start the day. good morning, america. i'm juju chang in times square,

with dan harris. >> i was listening to that band throughout the day. they are tight. i've been playing drums since i was 10 years old. that guy is putting on a master class. >> george, that's a technical term. >> you've been playing drums since 10? >> yes. and i am not tight. >> what a powerful way to start the morning. also this morning, we'll have the new rules of grocery shopping. how can you tell if the meat you're buying is fresh? and why you should always start your shopping in the middle of the store. robin is out on assignment. i think she's taping her supersecret living the dream. and our living the dream contest is officially launched online. go to our website, abcnews.com. tell us your dream in 100 words or less. and you could be the one, lucky viewer whose dreams we're going to make come true. i can't remember, juju. have you done yours?

>> i did mine. living the dream already, george. >> next week. >> i can't wait. we also have time to go to the weather now with sam champion. he's been spending the day this earth day, at the epcot exhibit in florida. he literally joins us under water at the nemo and friends sea contribute. i won't make you laugh this time. >> don't make me laugh this time, juju. good morning. how are you guys? we're in this beautiful tank. there's 5.7 million gallons of water around me. and some 10,000 fish are right around me right now. absolutely beautiful way to celebrate earth day. let's get to the boards. we'll show you exactly what's going on this morning. first, we begin with a look at some earth day-labeled towns. we looked around to see if we could find some earth towns. we found some. also, there's a pretty big line

of thunderstorms and thunder showers. they will go from texas, through oklahoma. i'm a little concerned the tornadoes we haven't seen will pop up today in some of those areas. on the west coast, we have much cooler-than-normal temperatures. and it continues to be a little bit damp, into the southwest today. i wish i could spend all day here. all day here. this is just gorgeous. giant sea turtles, coming by. all that weather was brought to

you by mercedes-benz. and coming up in a second, juju, we'll talk about the health of our oceans. and the health of the seafood coming from it. it's a brand-new alarm. >> it's beautiful where you are, sam. can you actually touch the stingrays? >> yeah. everything's been coming by. i don't like to touch too much. but, you know. they nibble at the glass. >> that's fantastic. you're part of the exhibit now, sam. appreciate it. see you soon. take care. >> okay. we're going to change gears and talk about grocery shopping. you know when you're going up and down the aisles with your cart. and the phrase, what you don't know might hurt you? this applies to shopping. we have a lot of tips on how to shop for the healthiest food and stay healthy while you do it. and joining us is "shop smart's" magazine's senior product manager, mandy walker. how are you? i didn't know there was strategy. where you start is concern.

>> there's only so many controls where food and safety is concerned. there's some things you can do if you shop smarter. >> if you start in the middle of the store that's important? >> you want to start with things that don't need to be refrigerated. get your cereals. the canned goods. produce. maybe bulk foods. and then, start to think about meat and poultry. >> you mean, not start with the chicken. and what about meatballs are a staple in my household. how do you know which ground beef? i stand there and scratch my head. >> you want to check the date. the sell-by date, so you know when you should be picking it up some. packages can be treated with carbon monoxide to make it look redder. >> you can't judge by the come center. >> you can't judge by color. >> and because it looks fresh, doesn't mean there isn't bacteria. >> and what about handling? >> one thing you want to avoid are packages that are leaking

meat juices or poultry or fish. you want to take a plastic bag. it's hard to talk about using more plastic, unfortunately. just to be sure you don't spread anymore juices that might contain bacterias. you don't want to cross-contaminate anything in your cart. use them and keep them in a separate place in your cart. >> you can puncture the plastic. >> you need to be careful how you treat it. >> in our household, we only have hormone-free, antibiotic-free. >> you might want to look for no rmgh. it's a hormone that causes lameness. there's no studies how it affects humans. you want to avoid it. >> better safe than sorry. we don't put plastic in the dishwasher. we don't put it in the microwave. >> you want to avoid pba

plastic. you want to look at the recycling codes. look for a one, two or five. >> and how seriously do you take sell-by, eat-by dates? i smell something. i think i know what i'm doing. >> odors cannot indicate whether or not there's bacteria in it. you want to buy by the sell-by date. and use them by the expiration date. >> how do you push it? >> depends on the item. anything like meat, poultry or seafood, is within a day or so. >> good to know. these are items you use, because the cart itself might pose a risk. >> the cart handles or seat, might have more bacteria than in the restroom. you can wipe off the handle and the seat. or they do have -- with kids,

they have seat covers that you can buy that are about $20, $30. >> i've seen those. i thought they were a little paranoid. now, you're telling me they're a good idea. you don't want to cross-contaminate all the things you buy at the story. >> appreciate it. we're going to shop more smart now. >> that's great. >> you can learn more about food safety on our website, abcnews.com. and coming up next, what you need to know before you eat your next shrimp co

welcome back, america, to our 40th annual earth day celebration. by the way, we wanted to talk a little bit about the health of the ocean here. did you know that 70% of the earth's surface is covered by the oceans. and those oceans absorb about 20 million metric tons of greenhouse gases that we put into the air just about every day. we never thought there was a problem before. but now, we're beginning to think it might be. mark and sue have each dedicated 30 years of their lives to bringing oysters to our tables. now, the couple's found themselves thrust into the forefront of one of the newest, most pressing environmental issues of our time. and it began with these tiny,

delicate oyster larvae. >> they run the whiskey creek oyster hatchery in oregon. the largest producer of oyster larvae in the country. they produce 10 billion a year, for shellfish farmers around the world, to grow into the oysters that we recognize. that was, until their production plummeted, to zero, without any warning. >> we thought, what are we doing wrong? after 30 years, we can't. >> reporter: desperately, they turn to expert oceanographers. they discovered that the pacific water pumped into the hatchery was to blame. it wasn't just them. this is where the pacific ocean meets the bay. every day, those waves refresh this bay. that water is roughly filtered. heated a little bit. and pumped directly into these 8,000-gallon tanks. in the tanks are about 40 million swimming oyster larvae.

if they're not swimming, that's a problem. scientists discovered something was making the water too acidic. preventing the oyster larvae from growing shells. without the shells, certain death. hatcheries up and down the coast began suffering the same fate. >> the chemistry is simple. carbon dioxide makes the water. >> reporter: the problem is called ocean acidify kags. oceans act as sponges, absorbing the carbon dioxide in the air. but too much carbon in water, is a bad thing. turning the oceans more acidic. >> the scientists thought, isn't this great? the ocean's taking up carbon dioxide. it was only later that scientists realized that the carbon dioxide produces acid. and that attacks the shells of

organisms. >> reporter: while the effects were being ginning to be felt in these hatcheries, rich has been studying the problem for 20 years. >> the oceans are changing faster than they have changed over the last 20 million years or so. >> reporter: he says oysters, clams, muscles, lobsters and shrimp, are feeling the effects with weaker shells. and smaller-shelled creatures, like those at the bottom of the food chain, are also dwindling away. corals have a hard time forming, too. it's threatening the entire shellfish industry. a $2 billion business in the u.s. alone. >> we're risking something that really will change the way the oceans are for the rest of human civilization. >> it's something we have to pay a lot more attention to, we believe. and to prove it's a timely topic, there's an acidic committee meeting today. coming up next on "good

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marvin sapp, gospel music sensation. he's here with his new hit cd, "here i am." debuting on at number two on the billboard album chart. it's the highest position held by a gospel album. heeds going to perform for us. congratulations on basically making music history. >> thank you. thank you. >> i want to ask you. most people talk about juggling career and family. you juggle a career, a family. your lovely wife is here. and a pastoral family. how do you do that? >> i don't think i juggle it. when you juggle, you might drop something and break it and destroy it. i prioritize. and i try to make sure i keep the main thing the main thing and the best thing, the best thing. i am a husband, a father. have three kids at home. then, i'm a pastor. then, my musical career.

then, all the other endeavors that i do. >> and dan harris says you're tight. i don't know what that means. but i know i've enjoyed the music. fantastic, this morning. we'll let you do your beautiful thing, with the hit, "here i am." >> thank you. touch somebody and say, he saw the best in me. ♪ he saw the best in me ♪ when everyone else around could only see the worst ♪ ♪ in me can i sing it one more time ♪ ♪ one more time he saw the best in me ♪ ♪ when everyone else around could only see the worst ♪ ♪ in me

can y'all help me sing it ♪ ♪ come on he saw the best in me ♪ ♪ when everyone else around me could only see the worst ♪ ♪ in me is there anybody that has that ♪ ♪ testimony cuts you off ♪ ♪ says you won't make it he saw the best in me ♪ ♪ when everyone else everyone else around ♪ ♪ could only see the worst in me ♪ >> can i testify for a moment. i have to sing this verse. i love this song. ♪ you are mine and i am yours ♪ ♪ it doesn't matter what i did he only sees me ♪ ♪ for who i am

does anybody know that today ♪ ♪ he's mine i am his ♪ ♪ it doesn't matter what i did ♪ ♪ he only sees me for who i am ♪ ♪ help me sing it he is mine ♪ ♪ he is mine i am his ♪ ♪ i am his it doesn't matter ♪ ♪ what i did he only sees me ♪ ♪ for who i am yeah, yeah, whoa, whoa ♪ ♪ said he's mine he's mine ♪ ♪ i'm his i'm his ♪ ♪ it doesn't matter what i did ♪ ♪ he only sees he sees me for ♪ ♪ who i am whoa, whoa, whoa ♪

♪ he's mine he is mine ♪ ♪ i'm his doesn't matter what i did ♪ ♪ he only sees me for who i am ♪ ♪ whoa, whoa, whoa sing it ♪ ♪ he's mine i am his ♪ ♪ i'm his say it doesn't matter ♪ ♪ what i did he only sees me ♪ ♪ for who i am ♪ said he's mine he's mine ♪ ♪ and i'm his i am his ♪ ♪ it doesn't matter what i did because he only sees ♪ ♪ me for who i am ♪ he saw he saw the best in me ♪ ♪ when everyone else around me ♪

♪ everyone else around me could only see ♪ ♪ the worst in me >> i have to ask you one question. just one, simple question. when he said you would never make it, what did he see? ♪ he saw the best what did he see ♪ ♪ the best what did he see ♪ ♪ the best what did he see ♪ ♪ the best what did he see ♪ ♪ the best the best ♪ ♪ he saw the best in me ♪

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before we go, we want to say thank you to the maestro, marvin sapp. >> the maestro. i've never been called that before. >> fantastic. >> handing compliments left and right here. he's going to perform another song on our website, abcnews.com. check it out. tomorrow, every little girl's dream, dancing with the rockettes. melissa rycroft goes behind the scenes at radio city music hall, to see how the magic happens. >> and we should wave good-bye to sam. >> he looks like he's out of the water. >> have a great day. thank you so much. now, the forecast certified most accurate by weather rate

and maryland's most powerful doppler radar. >> just minutes away from expiring this dense fog advisory, some places like star's point started clear, the fog blew in and now pushing out across the bai. 52 degrees this morning, fog in some spots locked inning the 40s at veteran's represent tear school, and aannapolis we have burned off the fog. we have a good afternoon with sun developing and a beautiful high temperature of 70. we will show you more on that fog in a bit but right now our last check on traffic. >> it is slow going in certain spots on the beltway on the top side of the outer loop, that remains slow from 95 past providence road. traffic moving fairly well, here, still moving below speed at liberty road and the outer loop. we do have an accident at

carney at harper road southbound at second avenue. another accident as you make your way downtown, a crash a vehicle fire east bomb lord street in ricerstown an accident and an accident involving a bus at old court road at rolling road. as we take a quick peek at the city cam rays traffic moving better on the j fx, still slow from north avenue so give yourself time and use caution. stay with us because we will be right back with good morning maryland starting at 9:00.